Best of

the Twin Cities

Best Coach

Brady Starkey

The Twin Cities are blessed with a coaching affluence. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has won three WNBA titles. Gophers women’s hockey coach Brad Frost has four NCAA titles. But no one routinely traffics in excellence quite like Brady Starkey. His Concordia University women’s volleyball team has taken home so many national championships — eight in the last 10 years — that the NCAA should just sign over the title on a long-term lease. Yes, Concordia plays in Division II. But Starkey’s empire is woven from exquisite fabric — smart, selfless women almost entirely from Minnesota. Even more remarkable is that he’s built it at an unknown school in central St. Paul, without the kind of budgets more prestigious schools use to buy championships instead of earning them.